Lallee's Cottage

Bashful Butterfly

2012-02-29T15:32:00.000-05:00

Oh, it is glorious in the backyard!

The grass is green, the trees are greening up, and the azaleas are blooming!

The butterflies are drinking the nectar and the bees are too.

I'm going back on the porch to sit and enjoy!

Just had to share this with you.

Bloomin' Red

2012-02-25T08:02:00.004-05:00

Kramer's Supreme Turkey Red

This is a new camellia going in the garden.
The blooms are giant!

We're redoing the planter by the front door.
It's still in the planning stages,

but I knew I wanted a camellia in the corner as a feature plant.

I will share when it's completed, but it will be awhile.

Enjoy the weekend, friends.

Oh My Golly ~ Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal

2012-02-24T14:00:00.001-05:00

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal!

That's what I had for breakfast this morning.

It was soooooo good!!!!

And it's healthy for you.
Who would have thunk it?

Source: chocolatecoveredkatie.com via LalleesCottage on Pinterest

I found the recipe on Pinterest.

Just click the link below the photo that says source to go to the recipe.

Bon ape' banana.

Valentines Treat

2012-02-09T17:07:00.002-05:00

Do you need a suggestion for

a Valentine?

As you can see, I am rarely posting on my blog
but I had to come share this idea with you.

I found the easiest recipe in all the world on Pinterest,

as easy as making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

3-2-1 Cake

Into a large zip lock bag add :

1 box of angel food cake mix

and one box of regular cake mix (flavor of choice)

Into a microwavable cup,

add 3 tablespoons of mix

and 2 tablespoon of water.

Mix well and microwave on high 1 minute.

Now is that not easy?????

It makes a sweet single serving
so you won't be overeating.
Don't you know I had to add some butter cream frosting on it ;-)

but plain is delicious too.

For my Bible study group I bought jars from Dollar Tree

and added some of the mix, along with the baking directions
on the back of the tag.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Last week I passed my 6 year anniversary of blogging.
This is post #601.

I have turned comments off, but I'm still reading your blogs.
What I love about blogging is how it allows a voice,
that needs to get out every now and then,
a place to express those thoughts.

I thought I was finished expressing,
but it looks like I'm still talking some.

Thank you for your visits!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-23T20:45:00.009-05:00

Merry Christmas!

Yes, I haven't posted since September.

I had to come back and wish each of you a very blessed Christmas.

Here is a brief catch-up.

Mr. H did splendidly with his knee surgery and is happy not to hobble any longer.
He was an A+ patient!

The animal world at our house still rocks with daily humor.
Finnegan signed my Christmas cards this year, ever the helper.

If you received one and there were any snarky comments in them,
please consider the source.

2011 was a difficult year.
The loss of my father-in-law,
little Scottie Baggins,
settling my mother-in-law with alzheimer's into her single life,
hubby's knee surgery.....
all took their toll on us.

My blogging had to take a step to the side.
I was going to stop all together,
but I miss having this voice from time to time.
Still pondering what to do, but it will be different.

While I have been on a blogging break,
I continued to read YOUR blogs.....I just became a lurker and didn't leave comments.
Thank you for all your posts that brightened my days!

We are grateful beyond words that my mother-in-law
is finally content with her part time caregiver (#4),
and is accepting and appreciating our care for her.
Didn't think we were going to get there!

I was in the mood to do some crafting in I don't know how long.
I made cereal box and pine cone Christmas trees.

Oliver turned 13 in October!

Buzz is adorable and funny beyond words.

I still post pictures regularly on Flickr.
Hope this Christmas album embed works.

We are thankful for the endless mercies God has so tenderly given to us,
and for carrying us through 2011!!!!

Merry Christmas!

Love,
Lallee

Trading Fluffy for Bacon

2011-09-09T09:25:00.004-04:00

I'll give you one fluffy for ALL your bacon.
Labs know how to barter.

This past week in the photo challenge group on Flickr the daily challenge was fluffy.
Sawyer holding his fluffy woobie became my subject for the photo challenge.

His photo hit Explore on Flickr the day I published the photo.
Explore shows the 500 most interesting photos (not necessarily the best photos)
uploaded for the day, chosen by some technical algorithm rather than a person.

Sawyer is currently #3 for that day.

Sawyer now thinks he should be having a pound of bacon
delivered to his food dish daily.

Who thinks he's a hotshot these days?

He thinks now that he is a star
he is bored with the whole photo modeling thing.
He will not work for me anymore unless I hand over the pork!

The snob!

Flexible

2011-09-04T07:55:00.000-04:00

Flexible

"A bruised reed He will not break,

and a smoldering wick He will not put out."

Isaiah 42:3

Photo Challenge

2011-09-03T07:31:00.000-04:00

Bottle

I have been MIA from blogging recently.
Since I got my new camera,
I have been learning and experimenting.

Letters

To push myself out of my usual box,
I joined a daily challenge group on Flickr.
There is a new topic each day,
and you are to submit a photo using your interpretation for that topic.
It has been great fun so far.

Cute

My blog post is missing the stories that go with
some of my choices, but they can be found by clicking
the photo, which takes you to Flickr, if you like.

Blue

Fake

Spotted

Mr. H will have surgery the middle of this month for a knee replacement.
Ouch!
We are busy getting some last minute things done
around the house before he is put out of commission for a while.
I will not be posting much,
but I may drop in quickly and do some photo sharing.
Hope you have a great weekend.

Thinking of All of You in Irene's Wake and Path

2011-08-28T06:38:00.001-04:00

We have been watching Irene make her path,

keeping abreast of where she is

and thinking of those I know who are being affected by the hurricane.

May God keep you safe and in comfort.

Photos from last year's vacation.

We watched on the news as she went over our favorite Cat Island in the Bahamas

while she was at one of her strongest points.

We read on the Internet that not one electric pole is left standing on the island.

The sweet people of the island are in our thoughts too.

Blessings to all of you.

May God hold you in His mighty right hand.

The Wannabe Dock Dog

2011-08-26T14:14:00.000-04:00

Yes, another Buzz post. He is the current entertainment.

So who thinks he's a dock dog now?

You know the ones that run off docks, jumping into the water,

and being judged on how high they get and far they jump?

Check out the air on this one.

Check out the form.

Don't check the distance.

He is crazy about the pool!

Please note that he is never allowed by the pool

without his life vest and our close supervision.

He also thinks he's our life guard.

I'll save you, Daddy!!!!!

Here I come to save the dayyyyyyy!

Mighty Buzz is on the waaaaaYY!!!!

Catch me, Daddy!!!!!!

He loves the swimming part too.

He's not interested in staying on the raft with Oliver

and floating around lazily.

Oh no. He wants the action!

It has been great fun!

Are you watching me???????

Automatic Dishwasher

2011-08-23T17:45:00.000-04:00

And so goes my daily Buzz entertainment ;-)

Hiding in the Bushes

2011-08-22T07:59:00.000-04:00

I've been hiding in the bushes lately

along with my camera.

The ladybugs were keeping me entertained.

Larvae stage:

Pupae stage:

They were busy eating the million white flies on the verbena.

Chow down little ladies!

And please

PLEASE

make more babies.

2011-08-14T06:29:00.000-04:00

We drove out to the Gulf the other night

with my hoping to catch a good sunset.

We sat and watched,

and then God spoke with his brush.

It was glorious!

Do you see the cloud that looks like an angel in the above photo?

This is how it really looked--no altered photos.

Amen.

Master Bedroom~Easy Floor Care

2011-08-11T08:49:00.001-04:00

We have new flooring in our master bedroom

with carpeting being replaced with wood laminate flooring.

This is something I have been wanting for a long time,

and the ease of care for it has been exactly as I had hoped.

Having all the pets we do,

you can imagine the fur I am constantly attacking.

With this new flooring, it takes just a minute to

go around with my wide dust mop each morning.

This is so much easier than dragging the vacuum out,

and I am therefore cleaning it much more regularly.

I mop with a little vinegar and water as needed (not too wet).

I chose laminate wood flooring over real wood

for the durability with the dog's nails.

I still think of this bedroom as our Bahamas room.

It is a sweet respite at the end of the day.

We have really enjoyed our recent updates in our home.

We are not able to take a vacation this year,

needing to be near home to care for my mother-in-law.

This week we lost caregiver #2, and are waiting for the agency to find #3.

We hope the day will come that we will feel freer to come and go again.

For now, we are trying to go with the flow

and live in the story God has planned for this season.

Details of when I redecorated this room last year can be found here.

Like Golden Grain

2011-08-07T06:00:00.010-04:00

Selected verses from Psalm 72, The Message

"........because he rescues the poor at the first sign of need,
      the destitute who have run out of luck.
   He opens a place in his heart for the down-and-out,
      he restores the wretched of the earth.
   He frees them from tyranny and torture—
      when they bleed, he bleeds;
      when they die, he dies. "

"And live! Oh, let him live! Deck him out in Sheba gold.

Offer prayers unceasing to him, bless him from morning to night.

Fields of golden grain in the land,

cresting the mountains in wild exuberance,

Cornucopias of praise,

praises springing from the city like grass from the earth.

May he never be forgotten,

his fame shine on like sunshine.

May all godless people enter his circle of blessing

and bless the One who blessed them."

Full Psalm found here.

The Master Bath~New Flooring

2011-08-04T12:34:00.001-04:00

I don't know if you remember when

we redid our bathroom not so long ago.

Now the carpet is gone

and we have a tiled floor!

Hooray!

Here is a before to remind you of the carpet.

And here is a before-before picture.

Ugh!

Notice the step in front of the tub.

It had always been dangerous

and awkward and slippery to get in and out of the tub.

I had a bright idea!

Before the new tile is installed, let's get RID of it!

We didn't know what was giong to be underneath,

but Mr. H accepted the challenge.

How about 2 inches of concrete?

He was my hero though and he got it removed,

along with all the tile on the front of the tub.

Bye, bye pink flowers and dangerous slippery step.

We added the beadboard to the front of the tub.

My hubby did a great job installing,

and I followed with the painting.

Then the professionals came and took over,

installing the new tiles on the floor.

What a difference!

When the tile man first came to measure,

I was lamenting the 2" pink tiles in the shower and toilet area.

And this is where HE was my hero!

He said he could tile OVER the floor tile in the shower.

I had no idea! That has been my whole hangup

on making a decision for umpty-fratz years!

And then Mr. Tile Man said,

"Dear, just take out the tile in the toilet room and

and let me put this nice new tile in there for you too.

I don't like all the dust taking out makes,

but he had me at dear (ka-ching),

and I am sooooo happy that pink tile has GONE BYE-BYE!!!!!

No more one million grout lines in this area to

scrub down on my hands and knees either.

And speaking of getting older,

we got a new commode too that is taller.

Next we'll probably be adding a grab bar.

No, not yet but you never know.

Call me happy, happy housewife.

Or call me Laura.

Or call me Lallee.

Or call and tell me to get rid of those

pink countertops.

Call me dear and I might just do it.

Thank you for letting me show you our latest update!

Something New and Comments Turned Back On

2011-08-01T06:00:00.018-04:00

When my son was visiting he brought an awesome camera along,

and I got to play with it.

I was impressed!!!!

I've been debating on an upgrade

and going to a digital SLR for at least two years now.

And so............

Here are some of my first impressions:

1. It somehow adds 50 pounds on my body. What????

2. It makes splotches that look like liver spots on my skin. Geesh!!!

3. It causes me to make very weird faces. Scary!!!

4. It removes all my color. Strange.

5. I should get my money back.

6. Or I should go to a spa for six months and get all that corrected.
Update: adding 2 more
7. Makes my eyebrows lift without surgery.
8. Made me forget my hair appointment while I was
practicing photos.

OK, the next photo is what really sold me on this camera.

This is old guy Oliver who will be 13 in October.

Oh, my gosh I love it!

But tell me this, why does this camera make him look younger

and make me look older?

I must be setting the camera wrong.

It's going to take practice but I love the quick shutter speed.

I need some new subject material before I bore you with all the pet shots.

I hear you asking.

The camera is a Canon Rebel T3i.

I have tons to learn but it has been amazingly

easy to learn so far.

I'm not as intimidated as I thought I would be.

I'm very happy with my choice.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Up next post is the new flooring.

No pets featured.

Maybe.

Oh, and comments are turned back on!

I missed them. Missed you!

Hope you're still here.

Reflecting Glory

2011-07-31T06:00:00.001-04:00

A Hibiscus Day

2011-07-29T17:50:00.001-04:00

I am so glad it is Friday and I have the weekend to enjoy!

How about you?

It was a full week with workers in the house for four days,

and lots of cleaning and putting back together once they left.

I'm ready to relax!

Before I do, let me share some Hibiscus.

They always scream tropical to me.

I saw this bright yellow at Lowes one day

and went home without it.

I kept thinking about it, don't you know.

We had to go back to the store

for one more item.

There was one yellow hibiscus left

and this time I did not hesitate to buy.

I love seeing this one bloom each day.

I have a lovely red on the front porch.

The color has turned to a dark exotic red since I snapped this photo.

The blooms only last one day.

Oh how I wish they could linger.

This pink is so bright and cheerful.

The new flooring in the master bed and bath are done.

I will be sharing once I can take photos.

It turned out beautifully!

Have a wonderful weekend

and promise to do something fun!

Gluttons for Projects.....and Punishment

2011-07-27T08:34:00.001-04:00

July has become the month for projects inside and out.

The list of things we weren't able to get done in the spring,

are all getting done at once now.

Mr. H and I laid a pallet of sod,

repairing damaged areas around the front and side.

Can we say dirty work?

This pic is before my knees matched my shirt.

Now, water water water and pray for rain.

And we've received some!

The new grass should be greening up and blending in soon.

Check this work off our list!

Oh, but no rest for the weary!

We immediately moved inside and started this project.

Demolition!

We Mr. H removed a dangerous step in front of our tub,

rebuilding front of tub, and preparing for tile floor.

But we didn't stop there either.

We pulled up the carpet in the master bedroom

in preparation for Pergo flooring.

My aching body is happy to say we hired the flooring installation.

I'll show you the results as soon as the princess wakes up

and I have everything put back in place.

I have lots of construction dust to clean up.

Where did I put the bottle of Ibuprophen?

A Sure Foundation

2011-07-24T12:13:00.000-04:00

When everything under your feet shakes,

is there anything that never moves--never changes?

Yes there is.

God never changes.

Ever.

He is a rock that you can stand on

when the storms of life want to take you away.

He is a safe place.

Do you know that?

Do you know Him?

Perhaps you might listen to this sermon

and consider His majesty.

Trailing~Part II

2011-07-22T13:37:00.001-04:00

(Part 1 here.)

Here's part two of the trail walk with my husband and two sons.

Look how they leave me behind while

I'm trying to get photos for you!

They were kind enough to stop

and wait for me to catch up so I could see the deer.

Look closely and you will see them too.

Those are the only furry creatures we saw,

unless you count hairy legged spiders.

Do you mind seeing those?

Jacob gave a hand so I could get some macro photos

of the baby frog and lizard.

These were hopping all along the path.

So cute.

Can you find him against this background?

Oh, here is something else furry.

How about a velvet ant.

It was running fast-- getting a focused picture was impossible!

Lovely color!!!

I thought I found another animal with an eye looking at me.

See near the middle there (below)?

It looked like a bird head.

Nope. It was just a piece of wood.

But I saw this mushroom hiding under a leaf

when I bent down.

Michael went off the path for more photo opportunites.

Because I can't resist, here are more photos

of the scenery on our walk.

As we were leaving the park,

wild turkeys went across the road.

Michael and I grabbed our cameras for one more shot.

He captured the turkeys.

I captured him capturing the turkeys,

along with one of the thousand mosquitoes that

got in the car with us.

Well, I have endulged you long enough if you are still here.

Thank you so much as always for the visit.

I have to confess I am missing your comments.

A few more projects to go this week

and I think things will calm down around here.

Trailing~Part 1

2011-07-20T08:51:00.001-04:00

We went trailing in a local state park,

and the weather was actually pleasant with overcast skies.

We went armed with bug spray

which is much needed for the mosquitoes.

I'll share some of the scenery with you in this post,

and share the critters in part two.

The best thing about taking macro pictures

is it really makes you look closely

at things you otherwise might miss.

Parts of the trail are covered

with pretty chartreuse moss.

There are two ponds at the end of this trail

before you return the way you came.

We were the only ones on the trail all morning.

A young Bald Cypress was blooming.

I've never seen them in flower before.

I called this section Mosquito Alley.

The sun came out on our walk back.

My son found his shade spot.

The wildflowers were small and could easily have been missed.

I was always lagging behind the guys,

keeping my eyes peeled for the pretty things.

I hope you are grabbing some fun moments this month.

We're enjoying our son's visit.

I hope you'll come back for part two for the critters.

Dog ParTEE!!!

2011-07-18T11:52:00.003-04:00

My son Michael is visiting this week along with his dog Mr. Eko.

You met Eko at Christmas.

While Michael and I sat under my favorite oak tree relaxing.....

.....the dogs decided to parTEE.

Eko got the party goin' on!

And that is all it took for the Eko-Buzz chase to get started.

Sorry for the blurriness but they were too fast for my camera.

Buzz put the TERRIER on Eko.....

.....and gave him a good roll.

OK, not true about the roll but it makes a good story.

Oliver stayed on the side lines and cheered Buzz on.

Finnegan thinks he's a dog and said please could he come out?

Sawyer rolled in the grass to get the biting mosquitoes off.

And then they panted and rested up

until the next chase began again five minutes later.

And Oliver said could he please go back in the air conditioning.

and peace and quiet.

We're ALL having a great time together.

Update--a couple of my son's better photos:

Enriching the Earth

2011-07-17T10:24:00.000-04:00